Mabuhay to Seirin!
by TheRadioactiveWriter
Summary: Riko's friend from the Philippines came back to Tokyo and this time, Maria wants to become a helper of the thing that she's always loved since she was small. Once Maria got settled in as manager, she's been confused at several things like how the Generation of Miracles look like a packet of crayons and why one of the few players who can match their skills is afraid of a cute puppy.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own KnB, but I do own my OCs, not really a plot, and random cracks of humor.**

**Enjoy!**

**Special thanks to my real life friends, _Kammybale_, for helping me do this story since I'm a Baka. Yay!**

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><p>"Ate Riko!"<p>

Turning her head to the sound of the voice, Riko was suddenly lifted into a bear hug until she recognized the figure with a grin growing on her face. Wrapping her arms around her friend's waist, she began to match the cheerful, carefree atmosphere that constantly surrounded her longtime friend.

"Maria-chan, I haven't seen you in so long! Why are you here in Tokyo? I thought you had to finish your classes in the Philippines."

"Well, I'm moving back here for freshman year, and I knew that you went to Seirin, so here I am."

Both of the girls were oblivious to the staring eyes of the basketball team who just came back from the run that Riko sent them on with their jaws hit the floor in shock. They haven't seen Riko this happy ever since Nigou was discovered in a box, but what surprised them even more was how her friend was somewhat normal, and everyone knows how Riko rolls with incredibly painful punishments to match.

The girl named Maria was barely Riko's height with thick rimmed glasses and a pair of dark brown eyes that were hidden behind the bangs of the long, black hair. Her skin was slightly tan as well, but not as tan as Touou's ace. However, from the way that she looked so childlike, despite being only a year younger, they could only guess that the girl was like a little sibling to the coach.

"If you're a first year, then you're in the same classes as Kuroko and Bakagami. Where are those two, anyways," Riko mumbled under her breath, thinking of either doubling their training regimen or tripling it. _Then again, those two need to rest up for the practice match with Shuutoku tomorrow. Midorima and Takao will definitely bring us trouble, but-_

"Earth to Riko. Are you okay? You kinda zoned out there for a minute."

"Yeah, I'm just thinking where those two are."

"Does one of them have teal hair and the other have really big eyebrows," Maria questioned innocently.

Riko raised an eyebrow at that strange, yet amusing description while the rest of the Seirin players snickered quietly before noticing the death glare their coach was giving them before scrambling back to their practice session.

"Yes, why?"

"I think the one with teal hair passed out of exhaustion, and now, Big Brows is carrying him bride-style."

"How do you know that?"

Maria simply pointed at the doors with her eyes sparkling innocently, and to everyone's astonishment, Kagami _**was**_ carrying Kuroko bride-style, panting as he laid the phantom man on the floor, and like the idiot he was, didn't see the shocked faces of his teammates before speaking.

"What did I miss?"

"...Your guessing skills are still the same as ever, Maria. Just plain freaky and dead-on," Riko deadpanned.

"It's not my fault that my guesses are true most of the time," the girl in question said, her hand pushing up her glasses, trying to dispel the slight embarrassment that threatened to show itself through her cheeks.

After finally getting introductions towards the Seirin team, minus Kuroko who still laid flat on the floor in exhaustion, with minor complications since Maria couldn't stop calling Kagami Brows-kun, much to the amusement of the other players and to Kagami's chagrin, they finally got to know their new kouhai with a surprising shock to all of them.

"My name's Maria Ogawa, and I would like to be your manager, Seirin. If you'll accept my offer, please take care of me!"

"Wait, you want to be our manager?" The expressions on their faces made Maria laugh before she replied.

"I've always been interested in basketball, and I've heard good things about your team, so why not? Unless...you have a manager already, don't you," the girl's happy-go-lucky voice turned dejected as she started to look down to avoid their eyes with a small ball of worry bouncing around in her stomach.

Seirin, on the other hand, had no clue of what to next.

They were afraid of making the girl in front of them sad, or in the worst case scenario, cry because the coach had a dark intimidating aura around her that told them she would kill them if they did something wrong towards the girl, so they stood still in shock, hoping that Maria would sense the delicate balance of their lives tipping on the scale of life and death.

Suddenly, a hand was placed on top of her head, breaking her thoughts instantly, and a voice said, "Don't be afraid of the challenges that are in front of you. You now have us right beside you, so you don't worry about doing it alone."

Looking slightly upwards, the guy that said those words was looking down at her with an emotionless expression on his face. Maria recognized him as the guy with teal hair, and quietly mumbled, "Who are you?"

"I'm Kuroko Tetsuya."

"If you said that so easily, then does that mean you'll accept me as your manager?"

"Of course, Maria-chan! You've always been a great organizer, you have a great attitude when everything starts going wrong, and you're incredibly supportive of your teammates," Riko spoke up, breaking the incredibly tense atmosphere and unknowingly, made the all the Seirin players sigh in relief as their training wouldn't be doubled this time.

_Nice save, Kuroko!_

"Then, can I ask something?"

"What is it?"

"Is it possible to increase the team's training session today? After all, they've rested long enough to go back to practice."

The evil smile on Riko's face grew as the others, minus Kuroko who was as poker faced as ever, paled.

**"I'm doubling your training to make up lost time,"** Riko told them, pointing at them.

Immediately, they began to shoot at the baskets while Maria stared at them in wonder, a large grin stretching across her face unconsciously.

"Why are you smiling?"

"Even though I just met everyone today, I already feel like I'm part of one big family."

Noticing the words Maria had said, Riko couldn't help, but think, _"You're so cute Maria-chan!"_

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><p><strong>After a few hours, this is what I've made! Yay! Thanks to all that have read this, and if you have any comments, leave a review! The next chapter will hopefully come easily to my brain, and I'll see you next time!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own KnB, nor do I own any of the random references in this chatter, if there's any. I do own the OCs, not really a plot, and random cracks of humor.**

**I can't believe how many of my fellow Filipinos have read the the first chapter. Thanks to all of my readers for reading, and here's the awaited second chapter! Special thanks to _Kammybale_, once again, for being the first to review!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Maria stared at them, feeling slightly sorry for pointing it out to Riko that they said they were extremely hungry. Thankfully for the basketball team, the school's kitchen was closed, thus effectively shutting down the possibility of Riko cooking for them. Even Maria knew how bad the older girl's cooking tasted, so she silently cheered as well when the announcement was made.<p>

After that one incident with that birthday cake... Maria could still feel the intense spikes of flavor that came from the unnatural combination of the ice cream and hidden supplements within the deceiving dessert.

In the end, all the players were eating at the all too familiar steakhouse, trying to chew through the enormous steak that was in front of them and not throw up a minute later. Even though Maria felt hungry, the second she looked over towards Kagami, she could feel her stomach churn in discomfort at the mountain of unfinished steaks leftover by the others, and that alone soothed her hunger.

"Ogawa-san, how do you know Riko-san?"

"I've known Riko since I was little, but before she went to middle school, I moved to the Philippines, and we've kept in touch ever since through the phone, email, Skype, and visiting, though the last option was only every four years or so," Maria said, feeling awkward when Kuroko just kept his emotionless mask on as she talked.

"Every four years? That's a pretty long time," Kagami spoke, finishing off the steak before consuming another one from his pile of donated meat.

"It's really expensive getting a plane ticket, but when I come here on vacation, I feel more at ease than I am in the Philippines. However, this time, I'm not here to slack off. I'm here to do my job as the best manager of the best basketball team ever!"

A cheerful smile spread across her face with a tinge of pink on her cheeks as Maria said those words. The people around her looked at her with grins on their faces, feeling happy that they were praised so highly, despite just meeting them earlier that day.

"Then, you have to know something important about our opponents tomorrow for the practice match. Shutoku-," Hyuga started to explain, but surprisingly, Maria was the one who cut him off.

"They have one of the Generation of Miracles on their team, and you guys barely beat them because of their shooter, Midorima, who can score as far as the entire court, right?"

"Yeah, but how did you know that?"

"When you're surrounded by basketball fanatics, you learn stuff about all sorts of people involved in basketball, regardless of where they come from. That's one of the things about Filipinos. We often have something related to basketball stuff in any shape or form that it's kind of ridiculous, but that's a good thing, I guess."*****

As Kagami finished the last of the steaks and they were promptly kicked out of the shop with an anger owner, Riko walked slowly behind the group, watching the young girl talk among the group with ease, trying to comfort some of them who looked like they were about to throw up. A smile wormed its way up onto Riko's face, remembering the times when Riko was comforted by the girl's words.

"Maria, are you scared about tomorrow's match?"

Kagami asked this with the entire team staring at him, thinking, _"Of course, Bakagami!"_

The girl in question paused, stopping for a second before she turned around and said, "I'm confident enough to know that you are all definitely stronger than them, not only in skill, but in teamwork. However, just like every single one of you, I'm nervous as heck right now, but it's not with fear that I feel like I'm trembling. I'm nervous with excitement, wanting to know the outcome of the game that could go either way. Let's give it our all! Seirin,** fight on!"**

At the sound of the speech, everyone could feel a spark of confidence set ablaze within their hearts, making them shout out their reply as loudly as they could.

**_"Yeah!"_**

Riko's smile widen at the words, knowing that with the new manager of Seirin cheering them on would drive everyone to the best of their abilities. Ever since they were little, Maria had always been open-hearted towards most people with her personality being the figurative strength people have always wanted since the encouragements she had were said with all her heart.

_I just hope she won't be intimidated by the pressure of the game tomorrow_, Riko thought silently, _She's always been so influenced by the atmosphere._

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><p><strong>*I'm not joking when I say Filipinos love basketball. If we aren't playing basketball in the hundreds of courts around the area, we're wearing something basketball-related. If we don't have that, we're watching the television for the results of our favorite athletes. If we didn't have any of those, we'd play video games or watch animes with basketball. This was something that my friends, <strong>**_Kammybale_****, told me a while ago.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own KnB, but I do own my OCs, not really a plot, and random cracks of humor that appear from the depths of my brain.**

**The moment I saw a new review on my story:**

***freaks out and runs around like a spaz because I'm happy***

**The moment I saw another review on my story:**

***explodes with glee and squeals so loud that my parents could hear me***

**This will be the last chapter for a while because one, I have to figure out what I'm going to do for school with exams in three weeks and two, three chapters in what? Four days? An extra long one, at that?**

**I just love spoiling you guys, don't I?**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

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><p><em>This is going to be awesome!<em>

A large ice box that had the label, **Seirin**, was carried with ease by Maria as she quickly made her way towards the bench where the other players would be seated for the game, wiping away droplets of water that fell onto the floor from the freezing-to-the-touch container. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail, and unlike the other day, was wearing a t-shirt with a picture of a cute chibi cake and knee-length shorts.

_I really can't wait!_

She folded twenty small towels and refolded them when she saw they were uneven before piling them up into a small purse that she could use to hand them out to lessen the strain of the player's legs during their break. A small notebook was in her hand as she made sure there was enough supplies for any possible injuries or notes about what they needed to improve on for the next game.

_When's the match gonna start?!_

Running over towards the equipment room, which had the largest doors in the entire room, Maria's battered sneakers skidded across the floor before pushing the cart full of basketballs to the very center of the gym without even noticing the baffled stares of the opponents who were all thinking who the heck was she and why she was running around like a chicken without its head on.

Seirin, on the other hand, was amazed at how dedicated Maria was to her promise of making them the best team, not really bothered at the extreme amount of speed that their manager had suddenly gained while she was setting up the entire gym by herself for the practice match.

"Looks like she's stuck in Hyper again," Riko sighed, shaking her head slightly at the sight of an energetic Maria helping out with the scoreboard, startling the staff completely.

"Why do you say it like that?"

"The reason why is...well, you'll see why later. Probably."

At the sight of Riko's face becoming dark, Seirin hoped that Hyper Maria Ogawa wasn't as horrifying as a pissed off Riko Aida. Meanwhile, Shutoku was casting questioning glances at the new addition of their opponents' team, wondering when did she join them. Takao, especially, was interested in the girl, and was talking about her to, who else but, the famed green-haired shooter, Midorima Shintaro, who was taping his fingers with a critical eye while making sure his lucky item, a cute stuffed bunny with a red ribbon, was in perfect condition.

"That new manager is kinda cute, don't you think, Shin-chan?"

"You need to focus on winning the match rather than some girl doing her job."

"Can't you look at her for three seconds before shooting me down?"

Sighing at the persistence of his (annoying) friend, Midorima looked over towards Maria to see her doing the same exact thing to him. Her brown eyes covered by thick-rimmed glasses blinked several times at the green-eyed stare before she waved at him with a cheerful smile, walking away towards the bench where she huddled herself near the other Seirin players, trying to blend in with them. Takao couldn't help, but smirk at her reaction, slinging his arm around Midorima's shoulders.

"Seems like she likes you, Shin-chan~"

"Shut up, Takao."

When Maria was trying to figure out which player Midorima was, she quickly looked through the gym to figure out who he was. While her friends often talked about the best players of basketball, they never described them in their facial features, so Maria was left to guessing who was the famed shooter of the Generation of Miracles. However, the sight of green hair made her stare in disbelief.

_Why did he dye his hair green?_

Then, to her luck, said-greenette stared at her too before she gave a friendly smile and walked as calmly as possible out of that awkward stare down, trying to hide herself away from the world in embarrassment for randomly staring at someone she didn't know. When warmups were finished, the sound of the whistle made the players line up in the dead center.

"Let's have a good match!"

As everyone took their positions on the court, Maria scanned the team they were about to face, and mentally noted that their opponents were definitely hiding surprises under their sleeves. However, she then noticed the greenette was glancing at her again, and it sent a chill down her spine before she picked up her notebook and wrote down two words in bold next to the code name she picked out for him.

**Megane: Freakishly Scary!**

The atmosphere was heavy, waiting for the orange ball to be tossed into the air. Every player on the court was ready to strike for the first points of the game. As soon as the ball was thrown into the air, Kagami luckily got the ball first and tossed it over to Hyuga. Thus, the battle for points between Seirin and Shutoku began.

Sneakers hit the floor rapidly with the mere thought of getting the ball being the goal of all the players on the court, causing both teams to cheer wildly every time their respective team made a basket. Sweat dripped down from their faces as they kept the ball in play, making sure the person they marked wasn't going to disappear on them like a certain phantom man.

Hyuga kept making as many threes as he possibly could, going into clutch time within several minutes in the first quarter of the game, Izuki kept out for any clear passes to Hyuga, managing to make several baskets himself when he was close enough to the basket. It was the powerful freshmen duo, Kagami and Kuroko, whom kept the team in balance with well-played passes and wonderful offense, although the dunks that Kagami scored definitely boosted the morale of the team.

"Grabe, ang astig nila!"*****

Riko looked over towards Maria, who was so focused on the gameplay that the expression on her face was priceless with her jaw hanging out with a pair of wide eyes staring intently at the court in total awe. Then again, Riko felt the same way when Seirin went against Kaijo with Kise Ryouta. The power from that guy was incredible, and he was considered the weakest out of the group. With this kind of power from one of the Kings, it wasn't so surprising that her friend was speechless. Maria, on the other hand, couldn't take her eyes off the court for one second because of how every single movement on the court made a difference in getting one more extra basket for the win. It made her smile at the sight when Seirin was in the lead, but it didn't last for long.

Midorima grew annoyed at the small point difference between Seirin and Shutoku.

_A mere two point difference._

It was annoying enough for them to be beaten once, and Midorima was sure as hell wasn't going to let them win again. Gripping the ball tightly in his hand, he dribbled quickly towards the center line, meeting Kagami on a one-on-one. The red head glared down at the megane as they focused solely on the person in front of them. Suddenly, the greenette passed him with ease as he got into shooting position and let the ball fly from his fingers as it slowly soared through the air before shot straight down through the net, earning three points for Shutoku.

_So that's the shooter of the Generation of Miracles,_ Maria thought somberly, biting her lip.

For the rest of the first half of the game, their opponents wouldn't let them win so easily as they now took the lead with a ten point difference between the two, making the young manager slightly worried in the process when it was at halftime. Rushing over towards the team, she handed them the towels from the purse, and in the process of handing out water bottles, Maria's mind went numb with thoughts buzzing through her brain. Now that she saw who Midorima was, her legs automatically paced back and forth with her arms swinging recklessly by her sides as she continued to walk more quickly by the second.

_Who'll win the match?_

_I'm scared that we'll lose._

_This is really freaking me out._

_I-_

The water bottle left her hands suddenly, and it was flying its way straight towards the other side of the gym. Maria stared blankly as the bottle hit the most adorable-looking stuffed bunny she had ever seen in her life, and then it hit the ground with its face downwards. Everyone went silent as they saw the moment happen. Takao went pale when he saw what happened, and mustering up every ounce of courage he had, took a quick glance to see the most poisonous glare that he'd ever seen from Midorima. Wordlessly, Midorima picked up his lucky item, seeing a small smudge on the forehead. Though he was quiet on the outside, anyone who knew the man knew he was raging violently on the inside that his precious lucky item was shot off the bench by the water bottle.

Everyone knew this, but the poor girl who just stared at the guy cluelessly before realizing the time for the break was over.

Once again, the ball was in play with Seirin having this time, and the tension was higher than it was in the beginning of the game. Kagami luckily brought up the score by two extra points, but once again, Shutoku wasn't going to let them win that easily. Hyuga kept an eye out for any openings for threes while Kuroko was substituted several times throughout, making Maria wonder why he was getting back on the bench again if he and Kagami were the best at getting points by this point in the game.

"His Misdirection wears off after a while, so we have to rotate the players in order to gain leverage in the game. Plus, with that number 10's Hawk Eye, there's no way to fully utilize Kuroko in this match," the sound of Riko's voice made Maria look at her, but the new information made her search for the small notebook and write down it in a slightly wobbly script.

**Number Ten of Shutoku: Has the ability 'Hawk Eye', which I assume can see vast distances without trying to see their surroundings. Must watch out for this player!**

_Speaking of which, who is number ten?_

Trying to see from the blurring figures of the court, Maria saw that the jersey of number ten was right next to the shooter whom caused the flow of the game to their team. Maria immediately searched through her purse for her phone, and once she found the song she knew would help boost the lost morale of the Seirin players, she pressed play.

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><p><em>Don't worry nante shinjite mitai<em>

_Dekiru no wa mou shitteru ze kateru ze_

_Datte aitsu wa ore jishin_

_Let me higher, get me higher_

_Moeru mi no atsusa wa_

_Nanto naku no kyou demo_

_Burnin' up, we love shinjite_

_Rock me baby, show me baby_

_Misete kure motto_

_Ore to kimi to de tsukuri agerunda_

_Densetsu wo other self_

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><p>"We can win this match! There's still four minutes on the clock, and until the time runs out, don't you dare give up on me, Seirin!"<p>

"We wouldn't dream of it!"

"We're going to win it!"

"Let's pick up the pace, then!"

With their spirits raised up, Seirin finally turned itself around within the last two minutes of the game, making the huge point difference a mere three points away with one minute left on the clock. Kuroko quickly passed the ball to Hyuga whom shot the ball perfectly into the net, making the point difference even. However, Midorima had the ball in his possession and was quickly making his way towards the three point line before Kagami stopped him again. Seeing the time slowly making its way down to thirty seconds Midorima took his chance to shoot when a hand suddenly pushed the ball out of his hands into the hands of the three point shooter.

"Sorry, Midorima-kun."

Gritting his teeth, he quickly tried to block Hyuga when the ball got passed over to Kagami. The two aces of the team met in the center, their roles reversed this time. Midorima kept his eyes on Kagami, knowing that the power forward was most likely going to dunk the ball into the hoop as he often did. Kagami, on the other hand, was trapped between passing the ball and making the point himself. His legs were tired from the endless amounts of running he pulled through during the practice match, but he knew that it was now or never.

Trying to do a fake, Kagami was once again free from Midorima's path and rushed at the basket with the ball in hand, slamming it in when the buzzer finally rang through the gym, alerting the players that it was the end.

Seirin had won.

Meeting at the middle, they all bowed to each other, shouting, "Thank you for the match!"

"That was really close guys, but you did it!"

"It was thanks to your cheering that we were able to win the match!"

"Oi, you," an unfamiliar voice called out.

Turning to the sound of the voice, she saw Midorima standing there with his slightly dirty lucky item in his hand. The greenette walked slowly towards Maria, his eyes focused on her. A murderous feeling aura surrounded him, causing Maria to flinch slightly in stood nearby to help interfere if he needed to.

"H-hello. Nice to-"

"You're the reason why we lost today," he stated, his voice trying to conceal the hidden rage he had, "if you don't do something about _this_, then you'll regret it nanodayo."

Terror rose up in Maria's body, hearing the words slicked with malice, and the first thing that came to mind was to do the thing that needed to be done.

"Shin-chan, don't you think-"

_**"PATAWARIN MO AKO, HUWAG MO AKONG PATAYIN!"****_

Maria cowered behind the nearest object that she could find, which was Takao who was surprised at the way she spoke. Midorima was the same, staring at the girl in confusion.

"What are you doing to Maria-chan?"

Riko stood with a dark and definitely angry aura that clashed with Midorima's. For some strange reason, she was holding a frying pan, making the people around her wonder where the hell did she get that thing.

"Now, tell me what happened, Midorima, and we'll settle this the easy way."

"That girl knocked over my lucky item, smudging it in the process, causing our defeat, and she must deal with the consequences of ruining my property as well as my luck," the green-haired megane said, pushing up his glasses in the process.

"Gusto ko pang mabuhay!"*******

"Er, what the heck is she saying, and could you please stop using me as a shield," Takao squirmed uncomfortably as the girl had an iron grip on him, preventing him from escaping.

"She needs to calm down first because you scared her into this, so say sorry," Riko threatened, holding the frying pan close to Midorima's face.

Sighing in annoyance, Midorima dully said, "Sorry for scaring you, nanodayo."

Taking a shaky breath, Maria squeaked out her reply before hiding her face behind Takao again, "Sorry for making your bunny dirty, po."

"Pfft...!"

The sound came from Takao who started to laugh at them, causing major confusion to both parties.

"The two of you have add-on words. I'm used to hearing nanodayo from Midorima, but where the hell did that po come from?"

"It's something that Filipinos use to add extra emphasis to our words. Do not take them lightly," Maria mumbled quietly, trying to avoid the assumed judging eyes of the other Megane when he wasn't actually looking at her anymore.

"That seems like a good arrangement," Riko said towards Midorima who was rubbing his temples from the soon-to-come stress that'll come later on.

"Except I'm going to handle twice the amount of work than usual just to keep her in check."

"What are you two talking about," Takao finally noticed their conversation as Maria had let him go.

"Tomorrow, Maria, you'll be with these guys look for Midorima's lucky item to make up for the one that you ruined," Riko announced, not registering the panicked look on Maria's face.

"Hindi! I don't want to die!"

"Hey Maria," Takao said, "Shin-chan's not a bad guy. He's actually a big tsundere when you get to know him, so why don't you give him a chance?"

Thinking that there was no way out of this argument anymore since they were so persistent, the Filipina sighed in defeat, "Okay. The only problem with this is where we're going to meet up."

"How about by Maji Burger? Shin-chan and I will pick up you from there around eleven, so don't forget."

"Okay, don't be late."

The other players on the court decided to ignore the entire situation, knowing that if they did interfere, crazy things would've happened in the process, making the thing even longer than it was supposed to be.

After finishing the debate, Maria walked home to her cozy little apartment that had the basic needs of daily life. A kitchen with a wooden table that could set up to four people, the couch was soft to sit on for naps, a bathroom with a mirror, sink, and everything else a bathroom could need, and Maria's bedroom had a simple black nightstand, medium-sized bed, and a closet filled with different kinds of clothing that were given to her by her cousin. Changing into her pajamas, Maria brushed her teeth, took off her glasses, and fell down on her bed immediately from exhaustion.

"Who knows what'll happen tomorrow," were her last words before she drifted off into sleep, not noticing the flash that came from her phone that was glowing in the dark bedroom with the word **Kuya** on the screen before blacking out.

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><p><strong>*"Grabe, ang astig nila!" - Wow they're so cool!<strong>

****"Sorry, please don't kill me": Patawarin mo ako, huwag mo akong patayin. (It's more of "please be merciful, don't kill me!")**

*****"Gusto ko pang mabuhay!"- I want to live!**

**"Hindi!"- No!**

**Kuya- Older brother**

**Finally, I'm finished with this chapter! Did you guys guess the song? :D Until next time, review and tell me what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own KnB, nor any of the references that I make during this story, but I do own my OCs, not really a plot, and random cracks of humor that just pop up during the most crucial of times of my life.**

**Thanks for the reviews and enjoy the chapter.**

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><p>With his eyebrow twitching in annoyance, Midorima had his arms crossed against his chest as he and Takao sat in the fast food place with a single drink sitting on the table and the fries were shoveled into his friend's mouth as they waited for their accomplice to arrive. It had already been ten minutes since the set time, and Maria still hadn't shown up.<p>

"Shin-chan, don't look so tense. After all, we are going to find your lucky item. We always do."

"Today's item is too difficult to just wait around for."

"At least, we have an extra person with us."

"If she shows up, that is," Midorima reminded his companion whom couldn't help rolling his silver eyes in disbelief at his friend for having such a lack of faith in the girl.

"Sorry, I'm late!"

"Finally, wha-!?"

Looking in the direction of where the voice came from, Takao and Midorima couldn't help, but notice the way how Maria dressed up for the occasion. Her hair was let down as it normally was and she wore a simple casual outfit that consisted of a beige blouse with dark brown capri pants matched with the same shoes from yesterday. A black sling over purse hung near her hip. However, the thing that made them stare was the fact she actually looked like a normal girl instead of the spaz they saw yesterday in their gym, crying out in a different language while using one of them as a human shield to stop the other from hurting her.

"Uh...can you guys please stop staring? It's starting to creep me out," the Filipina deadpanned, making them realize what they were doing. Once Maria found herself a vacant chair, the trio finally discussed what they came for in the first place.

To be honest, she was still awkward around them after yesterday's accident, but she knew the faster she found his item, the faster she could go back home and finish her leftover homework.

"Today's lucky item is the limited edition stuffed toy of Kuroso Ganso that has the yellow hat with a red star in the middle*****, which has been said to only have 1,000 of them made in existence."

A loud bam shook their table, which caused the two guys to look over at Maria whom her face hit the table in misery before she looked up at the megane.

"How the heck are we supposed to find something that rare," Maria blurted out.

"We could start at the usual stores that Shin-chan buys these things, but even then, it'll take a while."

"Well, we better get a cab then," Maria started to get up, but surprisingly a hand on her shoulder stopped her from going out the door.

"That won't be necessary. We have our own mode of transportation. Takao, get it ready," Midorima said, making Takao sigh before he ate the rest of his fries and had the drink in his mouth as he walked outside. It was at that very moment that Maria noticed how tall the greenette was, and when they were standing by themselves outside, she couldn't help but stare at him, trying to figure out how tall he was. Midorima saw the intensity of the girl's eyes as they stared directly at him.

_What is it this time?_

Taking a sideward glance towards her, Maria didn't look away this time. She actually stared longer, which made Midorima slightly confused at where she was staring at. Actually, to Midorima, her staring reminded him of a puppy waiting for its master to come home and play while he was the door that said-master came from.

It was kinda cute to see that expression on her face compared to the crying terrified face that he saw yesterday.

Not that he cared about it.

However, Takao decided to show up at that one moment with their transportation in tow.

"Is that a rickshaw?"

Maria was dumbfounded at the sight of the vehicle before a smile broke out on her face.

"I call closest to the front!"

The answer made Midorima and Takao stare at her, completely stunned by the answer. Most people would just look at it in disbelief that such things still existed, but to the Filipina, her reaction was similar to a child getting the best present in her life. Without hesitating, she climbed onto the back with her legs crisscrossed as Midorima followed her, taking his normal sitting position before the rickshaw pulled them through the streets.

"This is much more comfortable than the carabao rides in the Philippines," Maria sighed out happily, ignoring the staring people from the sidelines.

"Carabao****** rides," Takao questioned with the thought of him being the animal in question.

Maria nodded, "Yep, it's exactly how it sounds like. Although, they're a bit stubborn sometimes, they're hardworking animals that do the job just right."

A silence overcame the trio, making the ride slightly less exciting than it was a few minutes ago. An idea came into Maria's mind and she began to sing out loud.

_**We're off to find the item! The item of the day!**_

_**We're here for the item, we're not here to play!**_

_**If ever there was an item we find, we can celebrate! Hooray!**_

_**Because, because, because, because, because!**_

_**Because we have the lucky item of the day~!**_

_**We're off to find the item! The item of the day!**_

Once the song was finished, Maria sat against the wooden cart, humming the song merrily.

Takao, however, was astonished at the random song that came out of nowhere, "You speak English?"

"Most Filipinos do, and most visitors that we have are Americans, so we need to have pretty good English."

"I have to admit," Midorima spoke up, "you were a little off on the timing in the middle, but other than that, it was decently sung."

"Shin-chan, you were actually listening? You really do care-"

"Focus on the road, idiot. The light's green."

"It's midori, Midorima," Maria said, without realizing the unknown pun within her words.

"How do you know my name?"

"My friends are basketball fans, so they have a tendency to talk about the really good players."

"You know, I don't think I introduced myself. The name's Takao."

"Maria Ogawa, and I'm proud to be Pinoy."

As the cart finally stopped, Midorima and Maria stepped down with ease in front of a shop with a peculiar feeling to it. Takao huffed out while he stretched his muscles before following the two inside. Maria saw all the strange stuff on the shelves, and while some of the items were ordinary like a teddy bear and a chair, there were several questionable items that made Maria shiver and stick close to Takao whom was a little surprised at the girl's close proximity. Midorima walked on ahead, leaving the two behind without knowing the things to come.

"Is it just me, or is that weird cartoon bear staring at me," the girl asked him, causing him to bite back a laugh at the dead serious face she was making.

"It's just you."

"How did you get used to these item hunts? If you weren't with me right now, I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't last five minutes in here before running away from the dolls."

"Shin-chan has had stranger items than a frog toy before, trust me."

An awkward silence followed after that, making the journey through the shop more creepy than it should've been. Maria eventually walked beside Takao so closely that they were shoulder-to-shoulder until they resolved it by holding hands because it felt suffocating to walk like robots. Even though Takao was used to his friend's strange obsession with lucky items, he had to admit that some of them were quite peculiar. One time Midorima had a realistic looking penguin figure the size of an actual penguin, causing several people to dial the local zoo's phone for a lost animal. Another was when he brought a huge canvas of a bright yellow sun, the same sort of picture that was usually found in a kindergarten, into the gym and set out it against the bleachers for enhancing the good luck around him or whatever.

Multiple glass eyes seemed to follow the two teens as they wandered around the place, looking for the cute frog toy that probably wouldn't be there. With trembling hands, Maria gripped Takao's hand in fear, the undeniable feeling of someone watching them from afar. Takao, feeling the nervousness from the girl, gripped it back. It was almost like when she was in the Philippines again as a little child during the first few months when the life she had always lived was a world away and she was lost in a world where no one could understand her and she struggled to understand them. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't see the dark looming figure near the bookcase.

Takao did from the very corner of his eye.

"Maria, let's find Shin-chan and get out of here."

Without saying anything in reply, the both of them dashed through the aisles with ease, their pursuer losing them through the smaller spaces. The shadows around them seemed to bend when they ran, weaving in and out between cracks in the furniture, guiding them through the shop. Takao and Maria were in sync with their hands connected as they slid through every opening that they could possibly go through, not taking a chance to see if they were still being followed. The grunts that weren't that far behind them was enough to make them sprint, barely missing some of the items on the shelves as they ducked, crawled, and slid through the endless lanes of items.

Once they saw the entrance of the shop, they bolted out of there to see their green-haired friend was there and sighed in relief when they saw him waiting in the back of the rickshaw with a can of red bean soup in his hand, eyes slightly raised to see the two of them panting like they got out of a marathon.

"What-"

"Let's get moving!"

Without letting Midorima finish his sentence, Takao ran up to the bike and pedaled as quickly as he could while Maria practically jumped inside the cart, nearly knocking it over in the process.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Don't worry Shin-chan! Everything's okay! Let's stop by the mall! "

"If she's looking like that, everything isn't okay."

"What?"

Looking over at Maria, her body was slouched over, her hands at her chest as if to slow the rapid beating of her heart. Her hair shielded her face from him, but from the slight trembling that came from her, it was more than enough to tell she was scared.

"Shin-chan, can you try to comfort her?"

"Why?!"

"I'm busy focusing on the road. Now, stop being such a tsundere, and help her out, otherwise I'm telling Seirin's coach."

Letting out a sigh, Midorima tried to think of the best solution possible without the girl crying before he finally thought of something. Putting his hand onto her head, he gently patted it, noticing the widening eyes of Maria who stared at him with slightly watery eyes that were magnified by her glasses, making her look like a crying child, and anyone who knew Midorima Shintaro knew that he wasn't good with children, but he kept his calm as he continued patting her head.

"It's okay. Don't cry, Ogawa."

Maria leaned into the stiff affection of the greenette, unconsciously moving closer towards him. Once the tears disappeared, she put her head tiredly against his arm and wrapped her arms around him as much as she possibly could, causing Midorima to yell out in protest.

"Why are you-"

"I'm tired."

Without him saying anything, she immediately fell asleep, and cuddled with the warm arm that belonged to the now blushing megane tsundere.

"Keep your hands to yourself, Shin-chan~"

**"Shut up Takao."**

* * *

><p>Arriving at the mall that had a basketball court, the three of them went over to the nearest restaurant and sat down for some good old-fashioned food. While Takao and Maria talked about what foods they were going to possibly eat with the money they had, Midorima uneasily shifted his eyes around the area with his hands clenching every now and then, knowing he wasn't safe without his lucky item. The words of Oha Asa rung through his ears as the voices around him faded into nothing.<p>

_Cancers are ranked last today, but by staying near a Scorpio, you're able to maintain your luck to a stable level. Your lucky item today is the ultra rare limited edition stuffed toy of Kuroso Ganso. Keep your lucky item nearby with you at all times, otherwise those who are around you will be in danger of catching your bad luck, especially any Pisces near you._

"-ima? Are you okay? Hoy!"

The shouting voice of Maria brought Midorima back to his senses, blinking his eyes to meet up with the concerned brown eyes of the Filipina across from him. Giving him the menu to choose his food with Takao starting to bother him, Maria started looking around the restaurant in an attempt to relieve her boredom before she noticed a nearby claw machine with a variety of prizes. However, among them, there was one stuffed frog toy that stood out differently than the one right next to it with a yellow cap with a red star in the middle, and it was buried beneath a basketball.

Her jaw dropped in disbelief, "The Kuroso Ganso toy is in the claw machine."

The comment made Midorima and Takao snap from their conversation, staring at the girl before Midorima stood up from his chair and walked out to the claw machine to see that the toy was, in fact, there. It wasn't long until the green-haired man played the game, causing the Hawk Eye to sigh in disbelief at the sight of his friend before turning towards Maria who had a smile on her face, feeling happy that Midorima was able to find what he wanted in the end.

"Maria, why did you join Seirin?"

Turning her head back in surprise at the question, she replied, "It's the school that Ate Riko goes to, and since she's the person I know the best, I decided to transfer there."

"Ate?"

"It means 'older sister', but it's for blood relatives . Manang is the correct term, but Riko's like an older sister to me, regardless of whom she was born to, and we've grown up together, so it doesn't feel right to me to call her Manang."

"I have a younger sister. Maybe I can get her to call me, uh... What's the Filipino word for older brother?"

"Kuya, and funnily enough, I have one."

His eyes widen slightly at the new information, "What's he like?"

She paused for a moment, "One could say he's normal and another can say he's strange. He also has a fondness for surprises and tricks, especially to people he's heard about from his friends."

Slowly nodding his head, Takao sat back in his chair before the food they ordered finally arrived at their table. Grabbing the bowl of rice, he chomped down on the cooked fish while Maria ate the cheeseburger, a soft smile on her face as she took in the taste of the burger. Midorima, still focused on the toy, was silently cursing inwardly at the game before continuing, not noticing the four teenage boys that walked by who looked inside the restaurant that his companions were in.

"Dude, check out that blonde over there," the brunette whispered towards his friend.

"Nah, she looks like she has her boyfriend over there," one with a red beanie said, seeing the buff guy that narrowed his eyes at the punks who looked at his girlfriend.

"What about her," the shortest of them pointed at Maria talking to Takao who tensed at the arrival of the guys, trying not to let it show on his face.

"Leave the money, and let's get out of here," Takao whispered towards her who nodded at him once he pointed towards the group of guys who were making their way to the two of them. Whipping out their wallets and leaving the correct amount of change, they once again ran outside of the mall through the nearby basketball court, but unfortunately, one of them grabbed Maria's wrist and turned her around to smirk.

"Pretty cute when you see her up close, but those glasses are too dorky. Let me see those for a minute, babe," a guy with black hair said, a hand stretched out towards her.

She smacked the hand that reached out, stomping on the foot of the guy that held her, releasing her in the process, "Don't call me 'babe', you puta.*******"

_Pew..._

Takao, on the other hand, heard a distant whistling sound, and couldn't help but notice how the sound was coming closer and closer until he turned around and let his eyes widen in shock.

"Why don't you be a good girl and come with- **_ACK?!_**"

Out of nowhere, a basketball hit the brunette in the head, causing an assortment of reactions with his friends incredibly shocked, Takao knowing who shot that with a sweat drop, and Maria trying to not laugh at the once incredibly intense scene.

"Who do you think you are, trying to mess with her, **nanodayo**?"

Midorima had a dark look in his eyes that made him intimidating with the sun's glare shining off his glasses, making him even more frightening to the quartet.

_That sounded so cool, but that nanodayo killed it_, Maria and Takao thought.

The one with the beanie, surprisingly, went up to him and said, "Tell you what. We'll settle this with basketball. If you win, we'll leave her alone. If we win, we get her, and heh, you'll see what happens next."

"Who the hell said I was going to stand around like some damsel in distress? I'm joining this thing," Maria yelled, shocking all of them before the four guys snickered at her. She flipped them off and went to her side of the court without looking at the stunned faces of the Shutoku players who were surprised at her change of attitude.

Takao came up to her, "Are you okay?"

"If there's one thing you shouldn't do to a Filipina, it's to take away her pride as a woman," Maria replied, her eyes glued to the ball as they took their positions.

"First one to thirty wins!"

Midorima started with the ball, passing it over to Takao with relative ease before he got double-teamed by Beanie and Brunette. Seeing Maria, he passed it to her quickly as she dribbled down the court, but suddenly, she was blocked by the black-haired guy who stood right near the three point line. No one else was open to pass to, and Midorima could easily make it in, but the chances of it getting stolen were definitely possible. Great.

Her best chance at this point was to fake and shoot.

Moving one foot to the left, the guy went after her to find her snap back into her original position with her arm shooting the ball towards the basket. It spun in the rim rapidly from the amount of force it was launched from before going down into the net, making Maria fist pump at the first points of the game were going to them. Takao laughed at the sight of the sight while Midorima found it good that they were in the lead. When the quartet started the game, Beanie found himself blocked by Maria who glared down at him so harshly that he flinched.

_What's her problem?!_

Practically smashing the ball away from his hands, Maria quickly passed the ball to Midorima whom was surprised at the amount of force that the ball was sent with before he did one of his famous three pointers. Takao and Maria kept passing it to each other to confuse them of whom was going to shoot, and the punks were too late when they failed to realize that the tall greenette was nearby. The rest of the game continued like that with Maria stealing and passing the majority of the time, Takao taking a few shots himself and doing his best to pass as well with Midorima acting as their team's main force for the game, ending with 31 to 4 as the final score.

Once the punks left with their pride shattered and the trio went back to the mall parking lot, Maria sighed in her seat while the rickshaw slowly pulled through the streets, the noisy atmosphere making the silence around them nonexistent. Takao and Midorima were silent during the ride until they came across a red light with Takao starting the conversation as usual.

"Where did you learn to play that roughly?"

"I'm only around 5'2", and I know those guys aren't going to be easy on me because I'm a girl, and it's payback for making me an item. At least, at the end of the day, we found Midorima's lucky item."

"Weren't you the one who discovered it in the claw machine?"

"Oh yeah... I was."

"Shin-chan, don't you have something you need to say?"

Remembering the horoscope, Midorima's next words shocked them both.

"It was my fault that this situation even happened. The both of you got caught in my bad luck, and that basketball match was the effect of it. Ogawa, I'm sorry that you were offended in the process of trying to help me, and for that, I'm truly thankful for your services in finding my lucky item."

Maria cracked a smile at him, "It's nice to hear those words coming from you, Midorima, but could you call me, Maria, instead?"

"Now that you mention it," Takao said, " I checked the horoscope today, and it said that when Cancers are nearby, Pisces people would experience something horrible. You are a Pisces, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"I heard that Cancers and Pisces are highly compatible with one another."

"So, what does that mean," Maria stared at Takao blankly, not noticing the dirty look Midorima gave him that told him to shut up.

"It's nothing," he decided, pedaling the rickshaw quickly, wanting to live the next day with Maria shrugging at the answer.

Once they dropped by the street that Maria lived on, she waved good-bye and went upstairs to her apartment. Opening it, she fell onto it, enjoying the soft surface of the bed. However, her phone went off at the last moment when she was about to fall asleep. Grumbling, Maria opened the phone to gape at the message in shock.

**_"THEY'RE GONNA DIEEE!"_**

* * *

><p><strong>Finally, done.<strong>

***Kuroso Ganso is a parody of Keroro Gunso, or Sergeant Frog.**

****Carabao is the water buffalo.**

*****Puta means...a bad word.**

**Looks like the inner fighter came out of Maria in that basketball match, and don't worry, she isn't that good at playing. Anyone would play their best if they were treated like a trophy. *Avoids random flying crap thrown at her* Maria seems to have noticed something that may put the people she knows in danger...?! Find out next time on _Mabuhay to Seirin!_**


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own KnB, nor any of the references used, if any. I do own the random humor, OCs, not exactly a plot, and other random stuff that my mind believes.**

**I'm sorry guys for not posting in two, three weeks? For one, quarterly exams was a pain in the butt, and Science was on the first day with Math as the last. Two, my mother's birthday was on a Saturday, and I didn't want to miss out on it. Three, I finally got the Blood of Olympus and oh my gods, I wanna start writing fanfiction about everything!**

* * *

><p>The heavy air between the two friends who stared at each other was suffocating, crushing all other senses to focus on one another as they stared down at each other in a Zone-like state that made the Seirin team, whom had been watching them from the start, scared like little children hiding from their parents when they did something wrong. Kuroko watched on with a slightly raised eyebrow while Kagami stood completely still at the scene, afraid of getting smacked in the on-coming smackdown.<p>

The brunette was furious at Maria who hadn't put trust in her for doing something like this, as if she had no confidence in her and her skills. However, Maria mastered the rebellious death glare that made the girl look like her older brother, and the comparison was enough to make Riko shiver in fear from the memory of the man. Holding her stainless steel weapon in her hands, she gripped it firmly before Maria broke the silence.

"You know, you're going to kill us with that."

A vein popped out of Riko's head, "I'm better than I was before! Haven't you gotten over that incident?"

"I won't forget about it, no matter how many years have passed since then!"

"I didn't know it was that bad!"

"That cake sent me to the hospital on my birthday, Riko," the freshman hissed out at her, making the others, including the girl that she was talking to, shocked. Where was the super happy girl that they met a week ago? What happened to her? Why the heck is this situation even happening?

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><p><strong>FLASHBACK TO SATURDAY<strong>

**_"THEY'RE GONNA DIEEE!"_**

_Maria was in shock, almost dropping her phone in the process before realizing the danger her basketball team was in from the message that was on the small electronic screen in front of her._

_**To: Maria**_

_**From: Riko**_

_**Since the training camp is in a few days, I think it's time to show the guys how much I improved over the year. Do you mind helping me out for a while? I appreciate if you could.**_

_"I have to stop her!"_

_On Monday in the afternoon, Maria had her hair tied up in a ponytail with a pair of wooden spoons attached to her hips. A white apron that had the words, "Get Out if You Can't Handle This!", was printed in black bold letters as her eyeglasses were freshly polished from any previous smudges with a clean handkerchief._

_It's go time._

_When she entered the room, it smelled like something had been roasted by a flamethrower with the extra help of some gasoline with a strange spicy kick to it that made Maria hesitant to go inside._

_I know that I'll most likely die in this place._

_However, I promised them I would be the very best._

_(Like no one ever was~)_

_That I would do my part as their manager, to protect them from the evil beyond this door._

_That evil..._

_Known as Riko's cooking!_

_Throwing open the door with a mighty slam, Maria stormed inside with one of wooden spoons in hand, brown eyes scanning the scene before her in horror. The others stopped midway with their spoons filled with a strange brown mixture in it with some white particles, which Maria guessed was rice. Then, she looked down at the plates. Fresh uncut vegetables sat in the brown mixture sadly, steaming from the time that they cooked for._

_If you could call it cooked, Maria thought to herself._

_"Maria! You're just in time-"_

_The wooden spoon stopped only a few inches away from Riko's face, and that's when the brunette saw the dark expression in her friend's eyes that seemed to blend the warm brown into a charcoal black. She gripped the ladle in her hand tightly, feeling betrayed that the girl in front of her had doubts of her cooking skills still, even after all these years._

_"Don't you trust me, Maria?"_

_"I do not trust anyone whom is an idiot in the kitchen," a simple push with her left hand raised the glasses made her look like a certain Shutoku carrot, making everyone else sweat drop at the image before realizing that this was a war zone before they all cowered under the tables where their meals sat dejectedly. _

_"Prepare to be schooled," the Filipina said coolly._

_I must win!_

_"Like hell I'll be schooled by you!"_

_This is a battle I must win!_

_**This is the Battle of the Iron Chefs!**_

* * *

><p>Maria lunged forward with the wooden spoon like a sword before a dull clang of the ladle made it stop only a few inches away from Riko's face. Whipping out the other one, she doubled the pressure onto her opponent with her eyes trained solely on Riko. The brunette was amazed at the strength that her friend had gained over the years, trying to get a good angle to smack her weapon down. Backing up suddenly, surprised brown eyes widen to the rim of her glasses before stumbling onto her feet and getting back into normal position.<p>

Circling each other, Riko swung the ladle within a few inches of Maria's face before she was stopped by two wooden spoons crossed over like an X.

"Give up!"

"Never in my life shall I give up to you within the realm of cooking, Riko," the Filipina said, her voice low and chilling to the bone. The Seirin team was contemplating whether to help or not with the situation, but luckily their answer decided to enter the room at that moment.

"You're back from your check-up already," Hyuga asked, staring the Iron Heart with a skeptical eye.

"Don't worry about it so much. I've heard that we have a new manager, so where is she?"

Pointing over where the two girls were still doing amazing fighting techniques that included twirling, leaping, and even some dancing from the looks of it, Kiyoshi merely smile, and he walked over towards the girls.

"Hello coach!"

"Kiyoshi! You're back! This is Maria, my friend from the Philippines, the new manager of the team," Riko's eyes lit up while she slung an arm around Maria's shoulder as if they weren't fighting like a bunch of Spartans just a few seconds ago.

"Anyways, why were you two fighting in the first place," he asked, not noticing the 'Don't talk about that, you idiot!' stares he was getting from his friends, shielding themselves as best as they could.

"I stopped Riko from poisoning everyone because her cooking sucks."

"I improved a lot over the years!"

"Ate, if the vegetables aren't cut up with the stench of death in the air, I barely recognize that as an improvement to your skills."

"You have such high standards, but then again, you're practically at a professional level of cooking."

"I cook simply and I read the directions. That's all."

"Like hell you do!"

Twirling the wooden spoon in her hand with ease, Maria sighed and said, "If you guys want me to, I can cook for the trip, though I'm guessing you're skeptical of me being the better chef. I shall prepare a small meal for you."

Riko sighed at the younger girl, a small smile tugging on the corner of her lips. After that incident with the cake, Maria never left Riko alone in the kitchen ever again and became a rather good cook in the process. However, whenever Maria had the opportunity to cook, she genuinely would be the scariest person if someone even dared to cook in the same kitchen while she's around.

_Not to mention the fact she has a bad habit of smacking people with spoons when she's like this_, Riko thought as the girl in question chopped the garlic and onions, throwing them into the frying pan to brown. Thinly slicing the leftover meat as best as she could, she added them with a flick of her wrist and mixed it up before adding some rice that was from a nearby rice cooker. Adding some salt and pepper to the dish, Maria let it sit in the pan, and in the process, got some plates from the grocery bags on the table.

After carefully plating the fried rice, she stood up proudly and said, "I humbly accept any concerns if my cooking is insufficient to your tastes, and if you have any suggestions, please tell me after the meal."

The others didn't say a word as they ate the food with such vigor that it was enough to make Maria smile happily at the calls for seconds and served them their food. Riko, on the other hand, sat dejectedly in the corner while picking at the mushroom that started growing there in the small cloud of darkness.

Angrily, Riko was muttering to herself, "Those bastards...! I'm going to triple their training at the camp!"

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><p><strong>Sorry for the short chapter, but hey! I'm going to be updating again normally, so yay! Just understand that Blood of Olympus has me fangirling all over the place. Just to let you know.<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**I do not own Kuroko no Basket, nor any references used in the making of this chapter. I only own my OCS, not-really-plot, and random humor that may pop up from the depths of my mind, which may scare people sometimes. **

**Understand that this chapter will include some animals. Also, thanks to all the people who've been reading this story! We've reached one thousand views already! Thank you once again!**

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><p>"A few more laps, and then we'll move onto the beach court!"<p>

"Yes coach!"

Maria and Riko looked over the guys whom were running in the hot summer sun on the beach with the cool shade of the umbrella over them, sipping the delicious lemonade that was from the store on the beach. Riko glared at the scene in front of her, as if the second she looked away, the guys would fool around. Meanwhile, Maria took down several notes about each player, but there was a few storm clouds in the distance that looked a bit ominous. Trying to relax on the chairs brought over by Riko's father, Maria had the feeling something bad was going to happen, and it wasn't the upcoming storm.

_But what?_

"You alright, Maria?"

The sound of Riko's voice brought her out of her daydreaming.

"Yeah, I am. I'm just a bit paranoid about the storm."

"Okay, but understand that what you're thinking of is probably part of your imagination. You definitely are creative with things."

"If you're talking about the practice match against Shutoku, I acted on instinct than my mind, and look where that got me."

"It couldn't have been that bad."

Maria gave Riko a deadpan expression, "I was paired up with a grumpy carrot who has a horoscope addiction, rides a rickshaw for whatever reason, and is one of the scariest human beings in the entire world, should any person piss him off because of the mentioned horoscope addiction."

The brunette sweatdropped at the description, "Point taken."

"Don't you mean three points taken?"

Riko's eyebrow was slightly raised at the joke before sighing, "Don't pick up bad jokes from your brother."

"What do you mean by jokes? I wasn't telling a joke."

As much as she wanted to facepalm at the entire conversation, Riko managed to crack a smile at Maria before switching topics.

"Is your mom getting better at her language courses in the university for the translator job?"

"She's maintaining a steady average of 80 to 84 every quarter, but her worst language so far is Filipino, and she's lived there for the majority of her life."

"What about you?"

"...I don't wanna talk about it."**  
><strong>

A silence sat between the two, and it wasn't the awkward kind.

It was the comfortable kind that both of them needed in their lives to remain sane around the people around them, and to them, that was as rare as diamonds and pearls. Everyone passed the orange ball around in the blazing heat with Kagami occasionally face planting into the sand and Kuroko getting slightly more stronger in the arms as seen through his powerful passes. After a while, the team soon moved to the gym and to their surprise, saw honed their footwork, which was the reason for their constant running on the beach.

"It helps them focus on their big toes, which is the most important part when running in the sand. That increases their speed slowly," Kiyoshi explained to Maria who wrote the tip down in her notebook. It was a cute one with little chibi characters of people on the cover in black ink before it was colored in with pencils and a life-sized person that looked similar to Maria. The notes themselves were neat, and had nice, clear handwriting. However, everything written inside was in English, to the much to the confusion of Kiyoshi.

"Why is it all in English?"

"I went to an international school for a while. We had to use English all the time for obvious purposes, so I'm more used to writing it."

Nodding his head in understanding, Kiyoshi observed his teammates with a smile on his face while Maria's eyes flickered around the room in a calculative state, almost dissecting the scene in front of her before she made more notes about the team's condition.

* * *

><p><span>Preparations for the team are going well. Thankfully, we've increased our foot power slightly from the all-day running in the sand, but hopefully, we could add some more attacks under our arsenal before the next practice match against the other teams. Who knows what might happen later on if we stick to the same old style? <span>

I think the Generation of Miracles have the same hair color as their last name. At least part of them may, except for Kuroko who has light blue hair, or is it teal-colored? Whatever the case may be, there's one thing that'll never change, and that's the fact that they probably look like a packet of crayons if they're all together in one place.

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><p>The hand holding the pen twirled it around, reading over the notes with a rising eyebrow before dismissing it as a random thought. Time went on slowly, making Maria quickly bored. Even though there could be new developments within the team during her absence, she was one to do something rather than sit down and eat some fattening desserts while talking the entire time, though the idea was appealing from time to time when there was too much to do.<p>

"Kiyoshi-san, I'm going out for a minute."

"Okay, Ogawa-chan."

Breathing in the fresh air was a relief to Maria's nose, and she walked around the old hotel, admiring the landscape before her.

It was usually cloudy grey in the sky from all the pollution in the air during her stay in the Philippines, so it was refreshing to see a blue sky instead puffy white clouds. Dark green trees were lumped together in several places, giving the entire atmosphere a more forest-like feel when the location itself was at the beach. The sight of the dark sapphire waters washing the shore with little to no debri was nice, compared to the floating trash found sometimes with resorts. Maria wondered why the place wasn't as highly advertised as it should've been when a rustle from a nearby bush caught her attention.

"Meow."

A little black kitten around the tender age of probably three months adorably popped out of the bottom of the bush, making slowly making its way towards Maria who stared at the little furry creature. The memories of stray dogs and cats roaming the streets came to her mind, and she couldn't help herself from petting the surprisingly soft fur of the kitten.

"Cute!"

Even though she should've stayed away from strays as she'd been told numerous times as a child, this one had a tiny collar around its little neck that read, "Mizuki".

"If the owner is around, then I might as well return her."

Picking up the kitten gingerly, Maria read the collar where the address was, and found out that the address wasn't so far from where she stood. Going down the path and going into the town, the place where the owner lived was a small apartment building where it stretched around the beach. It was a white building weathered down in age, and it looked a little creepy, but Maria went inside to the front desk with the sight of the manager made her sigh in relief.

"Excuse me, do you know the owner of this kitten?"

"Ah, yes. This is Mizuki, alright. At least that boy can get his cat now. He's been freaking out about it for the last few hours, so thank you for saving my eardrums."

"Thank...you?"

The response came out to be more of a question, but nonetheless, the owner nodded and waved good-bye as Maria exited the building.

Once again, she looked towards the sea and saw the storm drawing closer and closer, the thunder in the distance booming through the air. Slowly walking to the direction of the hotel, the light slowly shifted from the pink-tinged afternoon sky, replacing it with an inky blue-black. Grey clouds swirled together as the rain finally came down on the girl, making her shiver at the cold. Blobs of water blurred her vision. Slowing her pace for the lesser chance of an injury, Maria walked to the hotel where everyone began to move into the hotel, muttering to themselves while wiping themselves with towels.

"Maria, where were you," Riko whispered to her, a tone of worry in her words, a giant towel was instantly wrapped around the Filipina's body, covering her in its fluffiness. Taking the girl's glasses, Riko wiped them with her shirt while she continued talking.

"You already noticed the storm from this morning, but you still went outside. Now, you're probably going to get a cold, and-"

"A kitty was lost from home, ate. I couldn't leave it alone," the glittering brown eyes that were framed by the damp hair made the older girl stop her nagging, the sight before her made her pause.

"It was all alone, ate. In the pouring rain, it could've been by itself without its owner beside it, comforting the animal silently. No warmth or the love, it could've been drowned within a few minutes in the thundering rains outside these walls. However, those are the could've moments, and not in reality where I actually did something to help another."

A silence crossed between them, and the conversation was clear:

_Maria: I hope you understand._

_Riko: I do._

Going to their room, the two girls cleaned themselves up in the bath, got out the futons from the closets, and slept soundly through the storm that seemed desperate to tear through the windows with the violent winds slamming against it. In the far distance, a bus drove through the storm, and the occupants either talked to their friends, slept using their friends' shoulders, or looked out the window. Takao took several glances at Midorima who kept gripping his lucky item, a magnifying glass, with a twinge of uneasiness in the green eyes of his friend.

"Oha Asa said Cancers should to stay away from all forms of water, or else, they'll have bad luck throughout the day."

"The day is almost over anyways, Shin-chan. Besides, when did Oha Asa get so vengeful on Cancers," Takao said.

Midorima scrunched his nose in distaste, "Regardless of the brutality, I shall keep up with the item requests. After all, man proposes and God disposes."

In the distance, Mizuki the kitten rubbed her head against her master's loving fingers, feeling happy that she was safe and sound from the scary noises outside. However, the tender rubbing slowed as her master turned his head towards the window, a glint of mischievousness in his eyes.

"Let the introductions begin."

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><p><strong>Yay, an update after two, three days! Now, it's time to bust out the special chapter: Halloween! Next time on Mabuhay to Seirin, we'll begin the Halloween chapter fun! That is, if I can get it down in two days without any mistakes. Ha...this isn't going to be easy.<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**I do not own the franchise known as KnB, nor do I own any references in the chapter. I only own the OCs, not-really-a-plot, and random humor that threatens my mind with endless pestering at the night when I should be asleep.**

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><p>The storm still raged on through the morning, causing all the plans for training to be cut off until it showed signs of clearing up. It definitely wasn't going to be a good day in the slightest.<p>

**_KABOOM!_**

An explosion wasn't anyone's choice for a wake-up call, but unfortunately for Maria, it was. The poor girl was exhausted from the day before due to the cuteness of a random roaming cat, but she still went in the direction of the blast, her hair puffed up like an eighties hairdo, and her sleeping outfit a baggy grey t-shirt and black shorts that reached her knees with her glasses slightly askew on her nose. When she saw the aftermath of the explosion, a large angry tick mark popped out of her head.

"Riko! I told you to stay away from the kitchen! Where the hell are you?!"

The kitchen had large black scorch marks on the floor, countertop, and the pot itself being close to the same color as the sky, pitch black. Surrounding that was a gory blood red substance that smelled somewhat similar to the iron liquid, and judging from the steaks of red on the hotel floors, the young coach was probably going to the restrooms to wash off...whatever the heck the stuff on the walls were.

Maria put her hand on the wall, cringing at the slimy texture that oozed off the wall onto the floor. Smelling it up close, it had a definitely faint smell of iron, but it was slightly sweetened to smell like strawberries. That's when Maria noticed the small lumps on the wall that looked suspiciously like pills. Hopefully, the owner could understand the fact that Riko cannot cook to save her life without making something explode with vegetables and powdered mixes or end up giving someone food poisoning from the damned vitamins she always put in her food.

Probably not, considering the fact that the kitchen looked like a scene from a horror movie.

Grabbing a washcloth from the counter, which was already red, Maria began to clean the countertops vigorously, not noticing her shirt was slowly being stained from moving the cloth back and forth or the light red marks on her face as she wiped away the sweat that beaded down in trails. She'd have to wash up afterwards, but at least the place would be clean.

_**"WHAT THE HELL?!"**_

She heard the voice screech that in the hallway nearby, and taking a break to see what was going on, left the room to see a worthy eye twitch moment.

Riko was sheepishly rubbing her hand behind her head while Kagami was shouting at her to stop carrying around a knife and to stop acting so girly because it was seriously creepy. Kuroko, and surprisingly enough, Midorima stared at the wall where said-knife was lodged in with a dark aura surrounding them. Takao was also staring at the sight in complete awe, and what he said made Maria come up with a payback plan at Riko.

"She even took something out!"

Slowly creeping on them, Maria fell onto the floor with her face looking to the side to avoid breaking the lens of her glasses.

"Is that a person?!"

"That's Ogawa-san," Kuroko said towards his idiotic light.

"Wait a minute! She's covered in red!"

"You **_really_** are a hitman!"

"You guys are complete idiots! Why would I try to kill-"

"Why Riko? Why did you do this to me," Maria spoke softly, crawling towards them slowly to make it seem like she was in pain. Midorima stared at the sight, trembling slightly at the supposed blood on the girl while thinking back to his horoscope of the day about avoiding anything horror-related. Kagami was fearing for his life, using Kuroko, much to the displeasure of the shadow, as a shield. He was also muttering something about evil spirits in haunted hotels, or something to that nature. Takao had a small smirk on his face, but hid it well to avoid spoiling the surprise. He did have to admit the act was pretty convincing with her skills.

How did he know she was pretending?

Hawk eye, mother fluffers.

"Kagami-kun, do you smell that?"

"What are you talking about Kuroko?"

"The air smells sweet."

"Shouldn't we get an ambulance?!"

To their surprise, Midorima was the one who said that. Of course, he was still unnerved by the bloody knife that stabbed a cockroach with the perpetrator covered in the same substance, so there was a reason why he freaked out. However, the light and shadow duo were curious why the green-haired tsundere acted like he was concerned. They were too, of course, but the fact that Midorima cared enough to let it show was slightly unsettling.

"There's no need. Maria, can you stop that act please," Riko wanted to smack the girl for being so ridiculous, trying to scare them out of their minds.

Doing a push-up and landing on her feet, Maria walked over to them easily, a grin on her face.

"What's up?"

"What the hell was that," Kagami was seriously confused as to why Maria was pretending to be dead and then she was suddenly alive again. It made his brain hurt from the thought of it.

"Seriously Maria, I know you like Halloween, but that was a bit over dramatic."

"Well, ate, I've learned from the person I know the best."

"Which one?"

"I learned a few things with Louise, but you-know-who helped me polish my skills."

"Are we talking about Voldemort," Takao butted in on their conversation, which the two girls shushed him for.

"Don't say his freaking name! Isn't that taboo?"

"When did we get from bloody horror scenes to H*rry P*tter," Midorima asked the other two who stared at the argument between the two not-related sisters and the silver-eyed boy.

"I don't know, Midorima-kun," Kuroko said softly. "I do know that we should stop them before the owner questions the scene."

After convincing the three to drop their debate about how Harry Potter looked like the main guy character in xxxHolic, which made the Seirin players to raise an eyebrow at the anime reference because who knew the coach watched anime, they made their way into the war zone known as the site of the explosion from before. Maria went back into the room to get washed up, and the other members of Seirin woke up to see the two Shutoku players sitting at their table with their team on the other side of the cafeteria, making the atmosphere quite awkward for both teams.

"What the hell are those two doing over there? Someone get me a pineapple," Miyaji huffed out when the two players sat down. Kimura sighed slightly at his teammates' antics while the others just talked to one another.

The slam of the door add everyone jerk their head towards the sound before Seirin had their jaws hanging out so low, the Shutoku team thought they were going to catch flies.

Maria walked in with an electric skillet that had a large amount of space that it could cook multiple things at the same time, cooking utensils like large mixing bowls and, of course, a wooden spoon, a mountain of ingredients like flour, eggs, and milk while the haul of toppings, syrups, and whipped cream were dragged in on a cart behind her. She set up the station in the middle of the room, which was a strange setup, considering it would have been better to do it at one of the ends of the rectangular table. Maria herself had a black tank top and black shorts with the same apron as before when she cooked the fried rice. Her hair was tied in a ponytail with a white scrunchy, but her glasses weren't on.

"Okay, I want you guys to test me on the quality of the food, but here's the twist: I want you to catch it for yourselves. Be quick about it. You have to catch at least three of them, and if you want, you can get an addition food with it like scrambled eggs or sausages. The time starts...now!"

Stirring the mixing bowl at high speed with her wooden spoon, Maria shuffled over to the stovetop to equally pour the mix onto the hot surface before she started another batch of pancake mix. After thirty seconds one side, she yanked the wooden spoon out, flipping the pancakes onto the other side and saw that they were a golden brown color.

"Is Ogawa able to see without her glasses?"

"If it concerns cooking, don't give a second thought about it. She knows exactly what she's doing in this state. Just don't piss her off, and you won't meet her deadly wooden spoon," Riko told Midorima, her stare fixed to the food. All he did in response was raise an eyebrow at the last sentence, but turned to see that the first pancake being thrown to him. He quickly raised his lucky item, a baseball mitt, hearing a loud smack and lowered it to have a delicious-looking pancake.

"Good reflexes, Midorima! Alright, who wants chocolate chips in theirs?"

After several attempts of trying and failing to get their breakfast with a few of them getting hit in the face with it, the others got their share, but Kagami had at least different kinds of pancakes on his plate stacked high.

"Amount of power that was being used felt similar to Kuroko's, so I had no problems in catching it," he said, stuffing his mouth chocolate smearing his face with a various array of syrups, fruits, and sweets around the area. Kuroko handed him a napkin, telling him to clean his face and to stop talking with his mouth full.

Midorima ate them in silence, finding it pleasant to eat, but not saying so. Takao ate his pancakes with his omelet, consisting of onions and sausage bits, in complete paradise. When everyone else started getting ready for the day training in the gym, Takao snuck up behind Maria who was cooking for herself and hugged her by wrapping his arms around her waist, startling her enough to make her point the wooden spoon in his face. He didn't even flinch.

"What are you doing," she questioned, keeping her eyes on the solidifying food. Takao hugged her before answering, "I came to give you feedback about your food."

"So?"

"Honestly, it was fluffy, warm, and although it was a little squished from hitting me, it tasted good."

"Hm."

It was silent as Maria flipped the pancake over for another few seconds. Takao was still hugging her from behind, watching her put several sausages before seasoning it with a little salt and pepper. Putting another pancake on the skillet and placing the cooked one on her plate, Maria sprayed some whipped cream on the outside of it while decorating it with some strawberries.

"Aren't you supposed to go train with your team?"

"Nah, I can run if I need to."

"You're probably going to run around in the rain for ditching them."

"Shin-chan would probably look for me first."

Maria felt him shuffle around a bit, his hair lightly brushing against her neck while he continued staring at the food. Once they were cooked, she plated them with a light chocolate drizzle on top with the whipped cream looking like a bullseye. A single strawberry was placed in the center, and the finishing touch was the light sprinkle of confectioner's sugar, making the food look like a cavity paradise.

"That looks really sweet," Takao sweat dropped, but he was impressed at the presentation.

"I can't help it. I just love chocolate with strawberries, and why are you still here?"

"I don't want to leave you alone, and besides, we're going to the same place anyways."

"I need to get my glasses first though, so do you mind waiting for me?"

"Sure."

Maria savored the sweet chocolate syrup that made the pancake taste even better with the whipped cream slowly melting from the leftover heat in the pancake. It was quiet the entire time, which in the cafeteria was eerily creepy. Finishing her breakfast, they both dashed out of there, feeling a hint of nostalgia when doing so.

_Why does it feel like that time in the shop?_

That question echoed in their minds as they found their way to Maria's and Riko's room. Standing outside the door, Takao waited patiently, humming to himself.

"**AH!** **WHAT THE-"**

A loud crash was heard, and immediately, Takao tried opening the doors, but was stunned to find them locked, even though it opened just moments before. Another crash against the floor, and a voice screeched out, the sound ringing in his ears.

_**"WHAT THE HELL?! GET OUT OF MY ROOOOOM!"**_

Using his body to try and smash through the door, it surprisingly swung open with ease. However, there were no people inside. The entire room was trashed, things were thrown around the place, the window was open, and Maria's glasses were laying on the ground in the center of it all.

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><p><strong>Yeah! I pulled it off! To be honest, this chapter was completely unplanned and though I was tempted to make Maria cook dinuguan, which is a dish in the Philippines, I decided to leave that for another day when I didn't already plan something huge for this chapter. Probably, I'll add it as a gag side-story, but I finished this chapter! Yay, I'm exhausted, so I'm going to play my HM games, and I hope everyone is enjoying their Halloween because in the Philippines, we don't really celebrate it, but I hope to see you guys next time on "Mabuhay to Seirin".<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**I do not own KnB, nor any of the references used in the story, if any. I own the not-really-a-plot, OCs, and humor used in the chapter. Ah, geez, I haven't updated in such a long time, a month or two? Who remembers?**

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><p>"Kidnapper...Maria...Help!"<p>

When Takao ran into the gym shouting something about Maria getting kidnapped, Riko instantly put the poor guy into a Boston crab hold and told him to stop fucking around and to tell the honest truth. All he did was hand her the familiar glasses left behind in the room, and thus explains their current situation of finding out Maria's whereabouts.

"Coach, who do you think would try to kidnap Ogawa," Kuroko asked, a vanilla milkshake in hand as he stared at the fuming girl. Where did he get that? The world will never know.

"There's a very small amount of people that would actually try to do this kind of thing, especially to Maria. However, I have to make sure the person I'm thinking of has had recent contact with the victim. In other words, bring me Maria's phone. It's the deciding evidence!"

Rushing into the room, Riko rushed into the room and fished out the blue phone. Flipping it open, she stared at the screen and dropped the phone in the process from standing up so suddenly.

**_"That bastard will die!"_**

Both basketball teams were cowering in fear from the brunette as the dark, pissed off aura grew even stronger. Takao hid behind Midorima whom thought the entire day was just plain strange. Then again, when someone's with the Generation of Miracles, there's bound to be some abnormalities within the group, no matter how normal they look.

Running through the streets of the town, Riko dashed away from the Seirin basketball team whom were gasping from exhaustion, wondering how the hell was their coach more athletic than them. Kuroko was being bride-style carried by Kagami, the redhead grumbling about it along the way since they were the shadow-light duo. Takao, of course, wanted to know of the location of Maria whom he was supposed to look over. He had the same heavy dreaded feeling when they were alone together in the cafeteria and in the shop. Something, or someone rather, was following them, but they did well in blending in with the shadows to avoid Takao's Hawk Eye. Midorima, due to Takao's begging, came along with him, even though he wanted no part of this at all.

When Riko burst into the familiar-looking hotel, the first thing she asked (read: screamed) was, "Where the hell is Ogawa?!"

The nice desk lady nearly let out a shriek at the question before she steeled her nerves and stammered to her, "He's at a photo shoot with his mentor, but I have to admit, that boy just dragged in a young lady and barely said anything about it. So strange..."

"Excuse me, where is this photo shoot being shot," Kuroko stood beside Riko, making both the desk lady and Riko jump in surprise.

"Not far from here. It's near the beach. You can't miss it."

"Thank you," they both said, and once they exited, they saw a small crowd of people near by that crowded around the bend of the beach. Running off into that direction, they tried to look over the crowd, but unfortunately, the mass of people was so thick that they couldn't see over it. Takao tried using his Hawk Eye, but due to the fact there were so many different people in one place, it was impossible to see Maria. That's when the trio had the best idea out of the entire group.

It was a bit risky, but definitely the best.

"Go Kagami!"

"Body surf those people!"

"Who knew Bakagami could actually surf? On people too?!"

Yes, the plan was similar to the lunchtime rush that the freshmen had experienced a year ago. Using Kagami's skills, he could easily get through the crowd. However, when he was sent flying back into the sand, the group's morale was starting to get lower. That was when a bunch of fangirls started squealing in glee as the model for the photo shoot went through the crowd with his bodyguards surrounding him on all sides, making it impossible to see who he was, the lead photographer, and two younger people of opposite genders walked with them, one of which was the person that they were looking for.

"Maria-chan! You're safe!"

"Maria! There you are," the relief that the raven-haired Shutoku player felt was undeniably comforting, knowing that the girl that was under his care was okay.

"Riko, Takao, I'm sorry about before. It's just-"

"Bastard, why the hell are you calling my little sister by her first name," the voice came from the young man who stood watching the scene with a disturbingly intimidating dark brown glare at the two. His hair was an inky black color that contrasted to the pale skin that he had. His outfit consisted of a pale blue button-up shirt and shorts. A camera dangled from the strap around his neck, the item in his hands clutched angrily.

"A-Ah," the boy tried to think of a response, but it was hard to say anything with the glare getting worse and worse.

"You're the same guy that took Maria from me a few days ago in the shop! Not to mention the same guy that stayed behind to cuddle with her just an hour ago! Why the hell are you here," the guy stomped over towards Takao as his voice got louder and louder, attracting a few curious glances at the argument. Then, a familiar voice called out to them.

"Ogawacchi! Where are- Oh! Hey guys!"

Kise walked over from his bodyguards to the impending one-sided argument. His golden eyes looked over at the scene with a blank expression, confused by what he was seeing.

"Why is Ogawacchi so angry looking?"

"Kise-kun, this is the wrath of an older protective brother," Kuroko bluntly stated, his eyes staring at the growing dark aura around the older guy who was becoming more and more creepy by the minute.

Oh Kuroko, you have no clue of how right you are.

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><p><strong>After a month of waiting, I finally update! Not my longest work, but good enough. I'm going to work on my Christmas project now. Bye!<strong>


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